Effect of Abiotic Stress and its Mitigation Strategies in Wheat
Abstract
India'sstaple grain is wheat, which is cultivated in the majority of the nation in the winter. The earlier investigations and studies on the impact of abiotic stress on wheat are covered in this succinct analytical piece. Numerous alterations in plant metabolism are brought about by various abiotic stressors and many of these modifications overlap with one another. Low yields are the result of crop growth being hindered by metabolic changes brought on by stress. Abiotic stressors have also been found to be a significant role in yield loss, productivity decline and net profit shrinkage in long-term studies carried out by different researchers indifferent locations. As a result abiotic stress such as Heat, drought, salinity, water logging and Heavy metal most be effectively mitigate through management practices such as stress resistance cultivars, irrigation scheduling, tillage and planting choices, residue management, sowing time and integrated nutrient management to preserve natural resources while minimizing the negative effects and ensuring long term wheat output.
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Introduction
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)is a cereal crop grown on large area worldwide in a number of agro ecologies. Due to its economic and social benefits, it is widely grown in Asia, particularly in China, India and Nepal. Wheat production in India has progressively scaled new heights over the years with phenomenal increase in area, production and productivity. Globally, wheat is grown on 221.85 million hectares area with annual production around 785.12 million MT [1]. Wheat is called as the “King of cereals” because of its large cultivation in area, economic importance and potential for high productivity. Wheat is used to prepare pasta, pastry, semolina, chapatti and cookies among other items. It is a major staple food that accounts for approximately 35% of all food eaten by the world’spopulation. In India, wheat is cultivated across five agro-climatic zones covering an area of about 29.8 million hectares with annual production of 110.59 million MT [1] and holds second position in wheat production worldwide. To provide food security for its growing population, the country has to produce 140 MTwheat by 2050 with productivity of 4.7 MT ha−1 [2].
Despite the fact that wheat has the highest total harvested area (38.8%) among cereals (including rice and maize), its total productivity is the lowest. Various factors such as biotic and abiotic stresses are responsible for the majority of wheat production losses. Biotic stress in wheat contains a number of pathogenic fungi and viruses that causes root diseases. Abiotic stresses, which include low or high temperature, inadequate or excessive water, high salinity, heavy metals and ultra-violet radiation, are all detrimental to wheat posing a significant threat to agriculture and the environment and responsible for substantial crop yield loss. Abiotic stress decreases productivity by 50% inmost agriculturally valuable plants, including wheat [3]. Even though over 95% of India'swheat crop is irrigated, large portions of the country experience water shortages as a result of limitations on the amount of water available, especially during crucial periods of plant growth. Since the remaining wheat is dependent on rainfall, it is particularly susceptible to water stress, which lowers output and productivity. Although 21 to 24 degrees Celsius are thought to be the most ideal temperature range for wheat plant growth and development, the actual temperature range may differ based on the local agro climatic conditions. The whole wheat-cropped area in India experiences heat. While the central and peninsular parts experience heat stress all through the crop season, significant parts of north-western and north-eastern plains experience terminal heat. The trend by farmers in north-western and central India towards early sowing of wheat to take advantage of residual moisture is demanding development of wheat genotypes for both early and terminal heat tolerance.
Conclusion
Abiotic stresses like high temperature (20%), low temperature (7%), salinity (10%), drought (9%) and other form of stresses (4%) are adversely affect wheat crop by physiologically, morphologically, biochemically that result in poor yield which ultimately affects the farmer’ssocio-economic condition. Hence, there is further scope to increase the productivity of wheat through adaptation of suitable agronomic management practices like adjusting the time of sowing, use of mulches, antitranspirants and reclamation of soil through appropriate soil conditioners with respect to edaphic and climatic conditions of the area.
